Access to a location, such as, for example, an area (e.g., room, zone, hallway, etc.) of a secured building or facility, may be controlled (e.g., limited and/or restricted) and/or monitored by an access control system. For example, the access control system may include an access control device (e.g., card reader, electronic lock, etc.) located at the entrance (e.g., door) to the area, and an individual (e.g., a worker, visitor, employee, etc.) attempting to enter the area may need to present a valid identification token (e.g., key card, magnetic badge, wireless identification tag, etc.) to the access control device in order to gain access to (e.g., enter) the area.
Such access control systems, however, may have a number of problems associated therewith. For example, if the individual is denied access to the area (e.g., if the access control device does not grant the individual access to the area upon the user presenting the identification token to the device), the individual may not know the reason for denial, especially if the individual believes he should be able to access the area.
Further, obtaining access rights to the area (e.g., updating the individual's access rights so that the individual may access the area) can be a long and/or difficult process for the individual. For example, the individual may have to travel to a different location (e.g., control room, security desk, reception area, etc.) in the building, make a request to the relevant authority to grant the access, wait for the request to be approved, and have his or her identification card updated in order to obtain access.
Further, in situations where the access control device may not be working properly (e.g., the access control device is improperly granting or improperly denying access to the area), it may be difficult to determine why, or even whether, the device is not working. For example, a maintenance engineer of the access control system may not be able to discern why, or even whether, the access control device is not working by looking at the device.